


Until You Come Back to Me

by pitch_playbook



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-20
Updated: 2013-02-20
Packaged: 2017-11-29 21:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/691885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pitch_playbook/pseuds/pitch_playbook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had come as a great surprise to everyone, Beca included when Aubrey originally asked the younger girl out on a date. One year later though, and they're still going strong; or so Beca thought. Aubrey breaks up with Beca just before their anniversary, leaving both of them heartbroken, alone and searching for answers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Until You Come Back to Me

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This started off as a short one-shot, but ended up a little longer than expected. It's Mitchsen, and its angsty so hopefully you'll enjoy it. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. The title comes from a Stevie Wonder/Aretha Franklin song, the lyrics fit and I really just love the song. Enjoy.

**Until You Come Back to Me**

**Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan-fiction. I claim no ownership over the characters therein. No copyright infringement intended.**

“Beca? Hey...are you okay?...you sound upset…uh huh…Beca slow down okay, I can’t understand you. What’s wrong? Beca…Beca breathe…hang on, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Chloe hung up the phone and the distraught girl and grabbed her keys.

It was late but if Beca was calling her and not Aubrey it was obviously serious. Beca and Chloe’s best friend had been dating for almost a year at this point, and the blonde was usually there for her girl when something was wrong. Chloe had no idea where she was tonight; she figured she was out with Beca, but apparently not. Maybe Beca couldn’t reach her, maybe she didn’t want to, either way Chloe made her way over to the younger girl’s dorm in a rush. The red head drove as fast as she could without attracting the attention of law enforcement.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It had come as a great surprise to everyone, Beca included when Aubrey originally asked the younger girl out on a date. It was a few days after their big ICAA win, which was also a few days after Beca had kissed Jesse very enthusiastically and very publically. This fact didn’t seem to faze Aubrey in the slightest. It was during their last Bellas get-together of the school year that it happened. Most of the Bellas were going home for the summer, and Aubrey wanted them to celebrate one last time. Fat Amy suggested a pizza party in their auditorium, and that was fine with her. All she wanted to do was spend some more time with the Bellas before graduation. Okay may there was one tiny brunette Bella with “ear monstrosities” in particular that she wanted to spend more time with; but all the girls were important to her after this year. The brunette was sitting right next to her, hair tucked behind her ear, ear monstrosities on full display. Aubrey wasn’t sure if she could feel her eyes on her but for some reason she turned to smile at her, before leaning in to grab another slice of pepperoni. When she saw that smile though, the fact that the brunette may or may not have been in a relationship with a Treble ceased to matter. Before she could stop herself she had blurted it out, in front of everyone and surprisingly wasn’t regretting it.

“Beca, will you go on a date with me?”

Well, maybe she regretted it a little when all of the Bellas’ eyes were on her and Beca’s jaw was agape.

“Did you just…” Beca stumbled over her words.

“I did. Will you?”

“Umm…yeah…that would be nice,” Beca shocked even herself with that reply.

Sure Aubrey was gorgeous, and she had a smile that could light up a whole room when she actually bothered to show it, but a date? It hadn’t ever crossed her mind that she might like to go out with the other woman. Perhaps that was because they had spent most of the last eight months yelling at each other, but still even when they started getting along it hadn’t occurred to her. After agreeing to the date though, the prospect intrigued her. She started to wonder how long Aubrey had been interested in her, and how beautiful she’d look all dressed up for dinner. Beca’s mind was wandering but in the most wonderful way, with every thought that flitted through her mind she got more and more excited about the date.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chloe knocked on the door to Beca’s dorm room, banging harder when she received no answer. She could hear sniffles coming from behind the door, and eventually shuffling as Beca got up to unlock the door. It broke her heart to see her friend so upset, besides Aubrey the red head counted Beca as her closest friend. The brunette looked up at her friend through her tear filled, steele blue eyes and welcomed the embrace she received with a soft sigh. They stood in the door way like that for a few moments, Chloe just holding her the way she needed; wordless and warm. When Beca finally broke free from the hug, she led her friend over to her bed, taking a seat next to the red head.

Chloe wasn’t sure what to ask first, what was wrong or why she didn’t call her girlfriend. It didn’t cross her mind that the reason Beca was so upset was because of her girlfriend. She waited for the brunette to start the conversation, she had called her at midnight; she must want to talk. Chloe just smiled at the other woman, wrapping an arm around. If Chloe knew how to do anything it was how to comfort, and how to be there for friends when they needed you. She was so used to it with Aubrey who more often than not was minutes away from a stress induced breakdown. It took a few more minutes, but eventually the brunette broke her silence.

“She broke up with me…” it was muffled by Beca’s sleeve, but Chloe heard it as clear as day. Aubrey had broken up with her girlfriend, just a few days shy of their one year anniversary. That explained why she wasn’t the one here holding Beca as she wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing.

“Did she say why?”

It was all Chloe to think to ask, and she honestly didn’t know why. Aubrey hadn’t given her any indication that she was planning on dumping Beca. Last time she saw the two of them they were curled up in Aubrey’s bed, Aubrey’s arm wrapped around the brunette’s waist as the morning light shone through her window. She remembered smiling to herself, thinking about how much happier and less stressed Aubrey had been since she started seeing Beca. Any shock she had over their initial date faded when she saw what a good match they made. They had similar interests, they understood each other and as cliché as it was, they completed each other. Aubrey offered Beca the sense of structure she had never had in her life, and Beca helped Aubrey let loose when she needed to. Chloe would never call them the perfect couple, but they were a great couple, as least as far as she could tell. It baffled her to think that Aubrey would throw away everything they had together so suddenly.

Beca swallowed hard, wiping her eyes again before speaking.

“All she said was that things weren’t working out. She said she was foolish to think the two of us could ever work. She told me it wasn’t me, it was her and that it was something she needed to do. I just…” Beca broke down again mid-sentence, tears flowing like lava down her cheeks, “I just don’t understand.”

Chloe put her other arm around her friend, pulling her in closer to her chest and holding her tight. All the red head could do was sit there shaking her head, she didn’t understand either. It was so unlike her friend to do something so rash, especially without talking to her first.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was earlier that afternoon, Aubrey was just getting ready to go out when she could hear Kelly Clarkson blaring out across her apartment; her ringtone. She sighed when the caller ID read dad, she had plans to meet up with Beca that evening and wanted to finish up with her cleaning and errands first. Her father calling her almost never meant good news, and it certainly never meant a short conversation. At the very least she was glad Chloe wasn’t home, if this devolved into yelling and tears she didn’t want her best friend to have to deal with it again. Maybe he had found out about her grades and wanted to berate her about a 3.97 instead of a 4.0 GPA, who knew. She hesitated before finally answering.

“Hi daddy,” Aubrey greeted the man.

After the initial pleasantries her father, as usual got right to the point. He was calling to offer her a job. He had connections at a big financial institution back in Indiana and they were apparently impressed by her resume which her father had taken the liberty of sharing with them. Aubrey’s father had allowed her to stay in Atlanta to complete with post-graduate studies but with this phone call he was making it clear he wanted her home. He went on and on about all the sons of his colleagues that he could set up Aubrey up with and about how she needed to settle down and think about her future. When he said it was a job offer Aubrey knew that actually meant that this was going to be her job. As soon as the school year officially ended in a few weeks she would be moving back to Indiana, and would presumably be courted by the sons of all of the richest business men in the state. It wasn’t how Aubrey pictured her future, but she knew that it had to be her future. Aubrey had never said no to James Posen III, and she wasn’t about to start now.

“Yes sir…yes…love you…see you then,” she said, hanging up the phone.

Her father promised to be there for her graduation and if she had her placed all packed up they could leave for Indiana that night. He told her how excited they all were to have her come home. It would be nice of course to see her mother and her younger brother; she hadn’t seen them very much this year with how busy had been with grad school. It wasn’t that Aubrey didn’t love her family, she just didn’t really consider Indiana home anymore. Atlanta, with the Bellas, that had been Aubrey’s home and Aubrey’s family for the last four years. Then there was the issue of one particular Bella, a brunette, one whose smile made the blonde melt into a puddle of goo whenever she saw it. A Bella who Aubrey had gotten all too used to waking up next to most mornings, to falling asleep next to at night and who never failed to make her feel loved. The Bella she had been in love with for almost a year; Beca. There was no way she could go back to Indiana and tell her father she couldn’t go out with his suitors because she had a girlfriend. That would never fly, James Posen III’s daughter would marry the son of one of his colleagues, become a high powered executive at a renowned financial institution and bear him a few grandchildren. Aubrey was going to be a respectable married business woman that was always the goal; that much was clear to her.

This left Aubrey with only one option. She had to end things with Beca now; she had to spare Beca all the drama of being with Aubrey Posen. She had been able to avoid it up until now being so far away from home but her father’s phone call changed everything. Aubrey would need to give up everything she cared about to please her father; it wasn’t a choice really, it was the reality of being a Posen.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning Beca woke up with a throbbing pain in her head. She must have cried herself to sleep, because she wasn’t hung over. Chloe wouldn’t let her break out the alcohol last night and she was probably right when she said she should be sober today. If she was going to try and talk to Aubrey being a hung over mess wasn’t the right way to go about it. Drinking isn’t going to solve anything the red head had said before apologizing profusely about having to call it a night. She had an early meeting with the school board regarding her new position and while she offered to stay with Beca; the brunette insisted she go home and get some proper rest. She told her she would hopefully see her later at the apartment she shared with Aubrey as she was going to over and talk to her as soon as possible.

She tried calling her, over and over but received no answer. Nor did any of her text messages get answered. Aubrey was ignoring her, and Beca had no idea why. She didn’t believe the blonde when she said it wasn’t working out because it was. Even right up until the second those words slipped out of Aubrey’s mouth it was working out, very well in fact. Beca had even planned an awesome night for their one year anniversary. She had a reservation at a fancy French restaurant that Aubrey always talked about wanting to go to. She was also going to take her for a moonlit walk on the beach, where she would give her the promise ring she had purchased. Aubrey would have loved it, and if Beca had her way, she was still going to love it.

Beca knocked on the door hoping against hope that the blonde would actually answer. If she didn’t pick up her phone, what were the chances she was going to want to talk in person? None apparently because she continued to ignore the brunette, no matter how hard she knocked.

“Aubrey…” Beca called, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes, “Aubrey I know you’re home. Please just open up so we can talk about this. I love you, and I know you love me. Let me in.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tears streamed down the blonde’s face as she slid down to the floor, sitting down in front of it. She wanted so badly to open it, to embrace her girlfriend and tell her that she was right. She wanted to tell her that she loved her and that they would be okay but they wouldn’t, they couldn’t be together anymore. It was easier this way. Aubrey would be leaving for Indiana soon and if she just didn’t see Beca before then, she wouldn’t have the chance to break down and tell her everything. If Beca knew she would just try and convince her that they could work something out, that they could be happy. Beca would do anything for her including trying to be in a long distance relationship with her, but Aubrey couldn’t put her through that. She couldn’t keep stringing Beca along when she knew in the end she needed to live another life. A life that didn’t include the girl she loved so much.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Beca sat outside of the apartment for a few hours before finally resigning herself to the fact that Aubrey wasn’t going to answer. She wasn’t giving up though, not that easily. She would come back tomorrow and the next day and the next day and every day after that. One day Aubrey would talk to her, she had to. This thing between them, it wasn’t over, it couldn’t be; it was too good to be over. Beca wasn’t going to lose the one person who had ever loved her in that way, not like this.

When she finally got back to her dorm room she climbed back into bed. It earned her a dirty look from her roommate, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to pretend to be happy and okay if she wasn’t. She sent one more text to Aubrey before falling asleep; _I miss you._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

When Chloe got back to her apartment that evening it took everything in her not to just slap her best friend up the side of her head. The look on Beca’s face when she opened her door, the desperation in her voice when she called, the tears rolling down her face; Chloe couldn’t get any of these things out of her head. The hurt Aubrey had caused her for seemingly no reason was inexcusable, Chloe needed to get to the bottom of it, but she figured violence wouldn’t get her anywhere. Instead she knocked on Aubrey’s bedroom door gently, sighing when she heard sniffling on the other side of the door. The sniffling ceased as she twisted the knob, letting herself in. Aubrey was now sitting on her bed, reading a book or more likely Chloe thought, pretending to read a book.

“Do you want to tell me why your girlfriend called me at midnight last night crying?” Chloe’s tone was colder than she had intended.

Chloe could see the hurt in Aubrey’s eyes as she told her that, but went on anyway. “Well, are you going to tell me the reason the two of you are heartbroken right now?”

“I…I’m not,” the blonde stuttered unconvincingly.

“Cut the crap Aubrey, we’ve been friends for way to long for me to believe that half assed lie.”

“It just wasn’t working.” Aubrey was lying again, Chloe just rolled her eyes.

Aubrey swallowed the lump in her throat and continued, “Really Chloe, I’m fine. I’m sorry she’s hurting but it just wasn’t working out. I figured it was better that we sever ties now than continue to drag each other through life.”

Chloe was at a loss for words, was her friend really trying to pretend that they had just been dragging each other along for the past year. She cocked an eyebrow at the other woman, “you know I still don’t believe you, but if you’re not going to tell me I can’t make you. All I’m going to say is you’re an idiot if you let her go. You mean the world to her, do you understand that?”

Aubrey didn’t answer but she figured it was rhetorical as the red head stormed out of her bedroom, not even waiting for an answer.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

As the weeks leading up to graduation go by the unanswered texts between Beca and Aubrey grow fewer and far between. At first Beca tried to talk to her every day, between texting and calling and showing up at her apartment, she was relentless. Still though she received nothing but the cold shoulder from her girlfriend, or rather former girlfriend she had come to accept. It was not for a lack of trying on her or Chloe’s part, but no matter what they tried, Aubrey wouldn’t budge. It saddened them both to see Aubrey revert to the angry; stressed out young woman she had been when she first started Barden.

The way Chloe told it the blonde wasn’t eating or sleeping well, but she tried to hide her best to hide it from her. She wasn’t shutting her best friend out completely, but she refused to discuss Beca. Anytime Chloe would so much as say the other woman’s name her friend shut down. It was infuriating really, it was obvious to Chloe that Aubrey was hurting and missed Beca but she just wouldn’t admit it.

“So,” Chloe started as they were eating dinner one evening, “I finally signed my contract; I’m officially staying in Atlanta to start my teaching career come September.”

“That’s great,” Aubrey said, mustering as much enthusiasm as she could under the current circumstances.

“Well, how about you? I know you had a lot of job offers, which one are you going to take?”

Aubrey almost choked on her dinner, she hadn’t been expecting that. She knew she would eventually have to tell Chloe the truth, but she thought she’d have one foot out the door by then.

“Well yeah, I accepted an offer. It’s a really good one too, and there are a lot of perks.”

Chloe just stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

“It’s in Indiana,” the blonde mumbled.

Chloe looked at her incredulously, “so that’s what this is about. Daddy called you and now you’re running back home, running away from everything and everyone you care about here. Why do you insist on trying to please him?”

“That’s not what this is about, it’s a great offer.”

“Spare me,” Chloe spat, stalking off to her bedroom.

She couldn’t believe it, Aubrey’s father could be intimidating but she thought Aubrey had learned to deal with it by now. One call from him and she was dumping everything to go back home. It was obvious to her that this is why Aubrey had left her girlfriend, and why she couldn’t bring herself to face the girl now. Aubrey was going home to do what was expected of her, build a prestigious career, marry a rich man, and start a family. Every dream her father had for her was going to come true, regardless of what his daughter actually wanted. Chloe’s heart was already hurting for Beca, who called her every day to ask how Aubrey was, but now it was hurting for Aubrey too. She was pissed at her friend for obliging, but she couldn’t even begin to understand the immense pressure she was under and she knew Aubrey didn’t handle pressure well.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Aubrey looked beautiful in her cap and gown, at least Beca thought so. She watched from the back row as she and Chloe accepted their diplomas, tears staining her face. Stacie tried to put a comforting arm around the brunette’s shoulders but her actions were rebuffed. There was nothing that could comfort Beca now. Her girlfriend had graduated again and she could be leaving for anywhere in the world. Beca knew she had a lot of job offers, and the chances of her staying in Atlanta were slim to none she figured. Why would she stay, not for her obviously and there were plenty of firms outside of Atlanta that would offer Aubrey a great salary with perks on top of it. She had made it clear that there was nothing tying her to the place and things just weren’t working.

Beca slipped out before the ceremony was over, wanting to get her car out of the parking lot before the rush to leave. She drove around the city for a while, it was a warm Sunday afternoon, and the breeze coming through her window was calming. She didn’t know at first where she was driving but eventually she had a clear destination in mind. After ten minutes she stopped her car, right in front of Aubrey and Chloe’s apartment. She sat in the vehicle for a few more minutes just watching. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was waiting for, would Chloe and Aubrey really come back here right after the ceremony? Unlikely, but she hoped they would. This might be her last chance to talk to Aubrey before she went elsewhere, possibly far away from her and she never saw the woman again.

She let out a deep sigh of relief when she saw the blonde and the red head pull up together in Chloe’s car. They didn’t notice her car and with the way Aubrey had been avoiding her, this would work to her advantage.

“Aubrey,” she called out, catching both women off guard.

To her surprise the blonde didn’t immediately try and get away. She instead turned to face her.

“Aubrey, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I need you to know before anything else happens that I love you.”

Aubrey felt paralyzed, she couldn’t move from her spot and turn away from Beca because she couldn’t move towards her either. There was nothing she could do to make this situation better. The car was already packed, the job offer accepted, she was just going upstairs to grab a few personal affects and then she would be off. Aubrey was off to a new job, and a new life; a life without Beca.

“I can’t,” was all the blonde could muster, choking back her tears. She turned away from Beca and ran into the apartment building, never looking back.

Chloe gave her a pained look, stepping forward to offer the younger girl a hug. She wasn’t surprised when Beca rebuffed her, instead turning to run back to her car. It was over. Aubrey had really messed things up and there was nothing the red head could do to help either of them. She watched Beca pull away before she pulled open the door to the building and followed Aubrey upstairs.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Indiana sucked, but anywhere without Beca would, that’s what Aubrey figured anyway. Work wasn’t bad, it was the work she wanted to be doing, but everything after work sucked. She wasn’t interested in family dinners, listening to her dad prattle on about work and his co-workers. She wasn’t interested in watching her brother and his goofball friends play X-Box and practice skateboard tricks incessantly. Most of all, she certainly wasn’t interested in the frequent blind dates her parents set her up on. The guys were usually nice albeit with an air of arrogance, but none of them made her feel the way Beca did. None of them made her laugh the way Beca did, or smiled at her the way Beca did or kissed her goodnight the way Beca had. None of them were Beca which meant none of them were the one. The three weeks without Beca here were the worst three weeks of her life. At least in Atlanta she knew Beca was close by and missing her, now it felt like she was worlds away and probably hating her.

Aubrey was startled when she heard a knock on her door. It was after nine, her parents were usually watching television at this time and her brother was either out or playing video games. She wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to face whoever it was. She tried to muffle her sigh when it was her father at the door. She didn’t want him to think she was mad at him, but she was. All the pressure he put on her, it was too much. She never wanted to fail him and because of that she was hurting, and she had hurt someone she loved so much.

“Can we talk?” he asked, sitting down gently next to her.

“Sure dad, about what?” she tried to reign in her sadness for the moment and focused on the man, waiting for him to speak.

“I’ve been in contact with John recently. He just wanted to give me an update on your progress at the company. He says your work is great and he’s impressed, but…” he stopped, seeing the look on Aubrey’s face.

“But what?” she inquired.

“But, you haven’t really adapted socially. He says you aren’t particularly friendly with people in the office, not rude, but you’re not participating in the culture. He seemed worried, and now I’m worried.”

Aubrey scoffed; it was so unlike her father, she was almost in disbelief.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not, you’re miserable. You think I don’t know when my own daughter is unhappy?”

“You thought making me take a job in Indiana, making me come home and making me leave all my friends in Atlanta behind was going to make me happy?” Aubrey’s voice rose.

“If you didn’t want to take the job why did you?”

“Because dad, I knew it wasn’t optional, nothing with you ever is. You’ve always put so much pressure on me and now I’ve gone and messed up my whole life because of it.” Aubrey was full on yelling now, hot, angry tears spilling out of her eyes.

“What are you talking about Aubrey? I just wanted the best for you. You never told me you had strong ties to Atlanta, I thought you might like to come home. Your mother and I, we just wanted to see you. I offered you a job here so you’d have a reason to come home if you wanted to. How have you messed up your whole life?” Her father’s voice was sad, he honestly had no idea how his daughter was feeling.

“I left my girlfriend dad, I had a girlfriend for a whole year and I left her because I thought I needed to take your job offer to please you. I knew you’d never approve of me having a girlfriend so I came home and I’ve been going on far too many awful blind dates. I left everything that meant anything to me so I could impress you.”

Her father’s face fell, her words had hurt him. He had always put pressure on her to do well, but everything he did, he just thought he was doing right by her. Being successful had always made him happy; he thought it would make her happy too. He only wanted the best for her, but apparently this wasn’t it.

“Aubrey, I know I’ve always put a lot of pressure on you to succeed but the only thing I have ever wanted is your happiness. I really did offer you this job to help you, and your mother and I have only been setting you up because we thought you deserved someone in your life. You never told us you already had someone.”

It hit her then, Aubrey didn’t talk to her parents, and she didn’t ever try and tell them her real hopes and dreams. She had been in a loving and committed relationship for a year and she didn’t let them know. She didn’t even give them the chance to know about her and her life, assuming the worst. It never occurred to her that her father acted out of love. It occurred to her now that maybe tough love and the drive to succeed were the only things her father knew. She recalled his stories about his father’s military background, something that had always seemed insignificant to her. Maybe if she had let him her father would know her, would understand her, the way she never tried to understand him.

“Beca,” she spoke up suddenly.

He looked at her quizzically for a moment before responding, “Your girlfriend?”

She nodded.

“You miss her?”

“More than anything,” Aubrey confirmed for her father.

“Then go after her. Posens go after what they want.”

Aubrey smiled before leaning in closer to give her father a hug. “Thank you,” she breathed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The Atlanta heat was stifling; Aubrey praised the creator of air conditioning as she made her way to her destination. Beca’s father’s house; she always stayed there in the summer. She considered not going there right away but she had wasted enough time. At this point she would be lucky not to get the door slammed in her face. She cautiously walked up to the house, praying with every step that Beca would be home.

She smiled when Beca opened the door quickly, but her smiled faded when she did in fact try and slam it in her face. Aubrey was quick though and stuck her foot in between the door and its fame, stopping it from closing.

“Beca please talk to me,” she pleaded with the other woman.

“Now you want to talk?” the brunette scoffed.

“Beca, I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” she spat angrily.

“I’m sorry for hurting you, for leaving you, for ignoring you, and for being an idiot.”

“Well thanks,” Beca said, attempting again to close the door.

“Beca please,” Aubrey had started to cry.

“Please what? Take you back? I thought it wasn’t working out?”

“You know I was lying.”

“Yeah I did.”

“Will you please let me in so I can tell you why?”

Beca finally relented, opening the door to the house wider and allowing the blonde entrance. She led them toward her father’s kitchen, motioning for Aubrey to take a seat at the table before making the two of them a pot of coffee.

When Beca joined Aubrey at the table she allowed her to speak. Beca was angry; she had wanted to talk to the blonde for weeks and had been ignored at every turn. Words failed her now, but it was probably a good thing because she didn’t want to say something she’d regret, at least not before she heard the other woman out.

She listened as Aubrey explained to her that she had been in Indiana, which Beca already knew thanks to Chloe’s reader’s digest version of Aubrey’s new life. She told her all about the phone call and the job offer. She told her about her new job and the awful blind dates. She told Beca everything, finishing with the details of her conversation with her father. Beca felt her expression softening as Aubrey explained how stupid she had been, and how much she had missed Beca every day since she left her. Beca realized now that she hadn’t been the only one with a broken heart these last few months.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Beca asked once Aubrey finished talking.

“I thought I didn’t have any options and I couldn’t face you as you tried to convince me otherwise. Beca you loved me so much and I knew you’d try and tell me we could make it work.”

“Correction,” Beca interrupted, “I love you so much, present tense.”

The corners of Aubrey’s lips curled up into a smile at this statement. She could tell Beca was still angry about how everything went down, but hearing her say she still loved her was reassuring.

“I love you so much too, so much more than anything else in the world. Please say you’ll give me another chance?”

“Only if you promise to never shut me out like this again. Aubrey I know sometimes it doesn’t seem like it, but we can get through anything together. Just give me a chance to show you that.”

“I promise,” Aubrey assured her, leaning in to place a kiss on the brunette’s lips.

“Speaking of promises,” Beca said, reaching into her pocket. “I got this for you for our one year anniversary. I carried it around all this time hoping I’d get to a point where I no longer wanted you to have it, but I never did.” She held out her had to Aubrey, revealing the promise ring she had purchased a few months earlier.

Aubrey slipped took the ring and slipped it on her finger, smiling at the way it glistened in the light.

“I promise to always love you Beca, and I promise to never hurt you again.”

“Ditto,” Beca smiled, placing a kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead.

Aubrey reached into her own pocket pulling out her cell phone. “I just have to make one quick call.”

“Hi dad…yeah I made it to Atlanta safe…yeah…thanks...yeah…I got my girl back…yeah…thank you…I love you too…bye.”

Beca smiled, “so, what’s the plan now? Do you have to go back to Indiana to your big fancy job?”

Aubrey shook her head; there was no way she was leaving Beca again.

“I had a job offer in Atlanta before I left, I spoke with them the other day and they were still interested.”

Beca was beaming, if she had to she would have done the long distance thing for Aubrey but she was more than happy to have her right here in Atlanta. This was Aubrey’s home as far as Beca was concerned, right here, back in her arms. 


End file.
